Samboy collapses during exhibition

Manila, Philippines – Samboy Lim, who mesmerized basketball fans in the 1980s and 1990s with his acrobatic moves, collapsed while playing an exhibition game with fellow PBA stars at the Ynares Center in Pasig.

Lim, 52, was brought to The Medical City after passing out.

After playing for about six minutes, Lim was pulled out by PBA Legends Coach Bogs Adornado.

The PBA Legends was up against a team from Resorts World team and the game was called off shortly after Lim was rushed to the hospital.

Lim played for Letran during his college days but is best remembered for his key role in the national team that was mentored by Ron Jacobs in the mid-1980s.

After suiting up for the national squad that won the 1985 Jones Cup and the 1985 Asian Basketball Confederation (now FIBA-Asia) and making waves in the 1985 world inter-club championships in Spain, Lim turned professional and wore the San Miguel jersey.

Lim was a joy to watch in the Jones Cup where he displayed his trademark hang-time moves against teams from the US, Canada and Uruguay.

In Spain, Lim also made his presence felt by scoring heavily against Montelibano of Brazil (featuring Oscar Schmidt), Cibona of Zagreb of Yugoslavia (starring Drazen Petrovic), Golden Eagles of the US and Banco di Roma of Italy, the only team the San Miguel beat in the powerhouse event.

Lim also played for the bronze-medal winning squad of Joe Lipa in the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul and the Robert Jaworski-coached team that settled for the silver in the 1990 Beijing Games.

Owing to his daredevil style, Lim was plagued with injuries and hardly completed a conference without getting hurt.